Virtual Dissertation Groups

Spring sign ups are now closed. Feel free to go ahead and sign up for the Fall semester!

VDG is a free service that connects graduate students to provide feedback on dissertation work. Members are grouped with two others working in the same general area of philosophy. About once a month, one member sends some work (3,000-6,000 words) to the others, who return feedback and comments in a week or so.

While advisors and committees are important, it can be incredibly helpful to discuss one’s work with peers in a lower-stakes environment, and it can be particularly enlightening to do so with those who take a different approach, outlook, or focus. Not only that, but there is evidence from psychological research that thinking about problems in relation to persons who are geographically distant can increase creativity. With students in programs from many states, countries, and every continent with a philosophy Ph.D. program, Virtual Dissertation Groups is a great way to capture some of these benefits!

Sound good? Then sign up for the Fall 2018 groups below!

Name(required)

University Affiliation(required)

Area of Dissertation Research (1-3 levels/key terms)(required)

*One* sentence summary of dissertation project (Brief please--I'll email there are any questions)(required)

Hi Joshua, sounds a great idea. I’m a PhD candidate in the UK working in political philosophy… Just wondering how wide ranging would the groups be? Would Political Theory/Philosophy be too far removed from philosophy to participate? Thanks

Hi Scott–We’ve had a very wide-range of topics thus far, and not just the “big” subdisciplines like M&E, Phil Lang, etc. I think that each semester we’ve had a couple of groups working in political philosophy, so we’d definitely love to have you aboard!